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Ruby had a secret from Weiss, and it was killing the redhead not to share it.
“How do you take your coffee?”
Relationships, Yang had told her, were built on honesty, trust, kindness, and good sex. Ruby didn’t know much about the last one, but she didn’t want to screw up the three things she did know about. The issue, for her, was that “honesty” and “trust” seemed to go against “kindness” in this situation.
“Uh, I… I don’t…”
The thing was, this really shouldn’t have been a big deal. After all, she wasn’t really lying, she just wasn’t telling the truth. Telling the truth would break the silent tradition that the girlfriends had established, their little study ritual.
“Answer the question!”
Whenever Weiss saw Ruby studying, be it by herself or with her girlfriend or with one of their friends, the pale woman would make her coffee, just the way that Ruby liked it.
“Ah, uh, cream and five sugars!”
Well, just the way Yang liked it, the way that Ruby had blurted when Weiss first asked so long ago.
Ruby hated coffee. Until Weiss, she had been strictly a cocoa person, and that had been completely fine with her. The bitterness in her mouth after a gulp of coffee didn’t suit her… even dressed up with much too much sugar and a metric ton of cream, it left a horrible aftertaste that lasted too long. She never had minded preparing it for Yang every morning back when the two girls went to Signal, and Yang promised that Ruby made a mean cup. Ruby was just never one for drinking it, herself.
Weiss thought Ruby loved coffee, coffee with cream and five sugars.
Ruby couldn’t very well admit that she didn’t.
Especially when even if she hated the drink, she had grown almost addicted to the ritual. When Weiss silently slipped her girlfriend a hot Beacon Academy mug with the barest hint of froth from the cream skimming the top, Ruby knew that Weiss cared for her. Not that she didn’t always know, but the feeling was so intense, something they shared, something that was for them alone. As Blake would read to Yang every night and that was their ritual, study coffee belonged exclusively to Ruby and Weiss and Ruby didn’t want to take that away.
She asked Yang about it.
Yang shook her head, raised her eyebrows. “You can’t keep it a secret forever, Ruby. I mean, I know you really hate coffee. She’d gonna find that out eventually, you know.”
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about!”
Yang put her arm around Ruby and pulled the smaller girl closer. “Cheer up! It’ll all work out or I’ll smash her face in. Those are pretty good options, right?”
“Uh… no?” No matter what happened, on the off chance that Weiss did find out Ruby’s secret, Ruby still quite liked her girlfriend with a functioning face and functioning lips.
“Just don’t worry so hard,” Yang smirked. “Secretly disliking coffee isn’t the end of the world.”
You can’t keep it a secret forever, Ruby.
That’s the first thing that went through the young girl’s head when Weiss confronted her two weeks later.
The pale, small woman stood with her hands on her hips. “I noticed something,” she began.
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I noticed that you really only drink coffee when I make it for you. Which is to say, you only drink it when you study. Not in the mornings when you get up. Not to help you settle down after dinner. Nowhere in between.”
Ruby bit her lip. “Well, uh… that’s not normal?”
“Not particularly!” Weiss frowned. “Ruby… are you not telling me something?”
“I… I…”
“Answer the question!”
“I don’t like coffee!” Ruby admitted. “That night when you asked me, I was drinking cocoa, and then you asked how I took my coffee and I tried to say I didn’t like coffee but you insisted and I panicked and now it’s a thing and it’s been going on for months and I never was quite sure how to bring it up. I’m really sorry Weiss. I didn’t mean to lie to you.”
Weiss snorted. “It’s fine. I’m sorry I was so pushy. I’ll try to improve on that.”
“I feel horrible though,” Ruby said.
“Don’t.”
“B-but I do.”
Weiss rolled her eyes. “Give me your coffee mug.”
“Uh…”
“Please.”
Ruby crossed to her bed and grabbed her Beacon Academy mug, handing it to Weiss. “I’ll be right back,” the white haired woman promised as she left the room with it.
Ruby sat on her girlfriend’s bed. Yang had warned her, and she hadn’t listened, and now she was paying the price. She wished she could have been strong enough to tell Weiss the truth, like a team leader… no, like a girlfriend should. Now Weiss was angry. Not that this was uncommon for the older girl, but…
Weiss reentered the dorm, carrying the mug carefully. “Here,” she said, gently pushing it at Ruby. “It isn’t coffee.”
“Then what is…”
“Just drink it.”
Ruby took a tentative sip, and blinked in surprise when the rich taste of cocoa made with double the chocolate filled her mouth. She glanced at the drink and saw that the marshmallows had even been melted into froth, and upon taking another sip… “Did you use milk instead of water?”
Weiss frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No,” Ruby said in surprise, gulping down another warm sip. “It’s perfect. That’s the best way to make it.”
Weiss smiled a little. “Good. That’s how I’ll make it from now on. I would have done it earlier, had I known that you didn’t like coffee. Now, I have to go talk to someone. I’ll see you later.”
“See you later,” Ruby echoed.
Weiss bent down to the sitting Ruby and planted a small kiss on the younger girl’s forehead. “Enjoy your hot chocolate.”
“Will do,” Ruby said. A grin spread across her face.
Weiss exited the dorm room to find Yang leaning on one hallway wall. “How’d it go?” the blonde asked.
“Fine. You were right about how she liked her hot chocolate.”
“Of course I was; I’m her sister, for gods’ sake. I know how Ruby likes her beverage.”
Weiss snorted, lightly, ladylike. “Thank you for telling me about this.”
Yang shrugged. “She sure as hell wasn’t going to tell you herself. She didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“It wouldn’t have hurt my feelings.”
“Yeah, but she’s worried about it. She really cares for you, you know.”
“I know,” Weiss confirmed. “I care for her too.”
Yang grinned. “Good. Well, I’m gonna go find Blake. All this talk of drinks made me super thirsty. I think I’m gonna take Blake out for milkshakes. You know how she likes her dairy products. It’s the cat thing.”
Weiss smiled. “Have fun.”
“Will do!” Yang ran off down the hallway, waving to Weiss as she went, and the smaller woman smiled slightly.
Overgrown puppies, the both of them.